CHAPTER 8: A BABOON'S BOOMERANG

"Are you finished napping? What was that?"

Link's senses returned within moments and felt the prickles of the grass against his face. Link pushed himself up from the ground and wiped away the smudges of its residue from his cheeks. Looking up, he saw Midna's hovering frame and realized that she must not have born witness to the same events that he had. Only for the one who carries the blood of the hero, the shade had said.

The weight of what had just occurred was just now settling into his mind as reality. An ancient warrior from times long past had become his mentor. Discovering the soldier again would most definitely be an honor.

But now was not the time for such thoughts. Plus, he did not much care to share the experience with the unpleasant Midna. "Never mind." He could tell by the way her eye squinted that she wanted to interrogate him further, but she also did not want to let on that she was interested. Link let her suffer in silence as she once again descended into shadow.

Storing the knowledge he had obtained from the shade, Link hopped onto the branch ahead of him and made his way along its precarious edges.

The entrance into the tree was no longer blocked; Link deduced that his animal guide had crossed into its depths and left the threshold open to him. He skidded down into the hollow of the branch where it jointed with the trunk and stood before the doorway, staring into its darkness suspiciously. It was oddly quiet inside from what he could tell, but he still had the sense that imposing danger lurked inside. Yet, he inhaled a fresh breath of air and plunged into the colossal giant of the wood.

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Creeping along in the dim reaches of the bark, Link was amazed to find that the darkness did not bother him that much. His eyes still seemed capable of discerning images in black areas, and though the realization that his lupine senses still coursed within him, he admitted--only to himself--that the abilities put him at ease. His journey throughout the giant would be far easier due to his heightened skills.

Before long, Link stepped through another doorway. On the other side, two torches framed the opening, their fire playing with the tendrils of darkness surrounding Link. Thankful for light, he continued through the new passageway slowly, waiting for any sign of danger.

All at once a vine curled around his foot and dragged him down onto his buttocks. Link followed the tentacle to its root and found an oval-like face closing in on his form. He pulled his sword and cast it down on the inhuman limb. The head squealed and bit at him as he pushed away from its crunching jaws. Hurriedly, he slashed through the feeble tissue, and it fell to the ground, motionless. Cautiously, Link took a closer look. It resembled that of the carnivorous deku baba plant of which Rusl had once taught him. He knew well enough that such plant life was to be avoided where possible.

Link sighed and turned away from the dead vines to continue onward into what he was certain was what Faron had referred to as the forest temple. He quickly discovered each trap positioned by the clever babas and avoided their dormant vines.

As the trail came to an end, Link found that the only way to continue on was upward. A lattice of vines climbed up the surface of the bark ahead of him, though they were not the extremities of the deku plants. They were simply tendrils of the inside of the tree working their way up to what looked like another level. Link marveled at the complexity of this tree giant and found himself wondering who had constructed this temple that lay in its belly.

Before ascending, a movement above caught his attention. Squeaking sounds emanated from the form looking down at him, and he recognized it as being the monkey who had led him here. Link quickly peeled an exploring spider from the vines and tossed it away. After sheathing his blade, he started up the trellis, pulling and pushing his way up its length to reach the top where his guide waited.

As he dusted off his tunic, the monkey squealed. Looking across the short distance, Link discovered the source of its attention. A circular door with a coiling crimson design had been set into the bark wall. He stepped up to the barrier and inspected its periphery for a latch. He found no obvious device that secured it to the wall, and so he placed his hands upon it. He slid his fingers across its surface and edges, but still found no hinge of any kind. He pressed upon it, yet nothing happened.

Sighing in frustration Link found the edges of the door with his fingers and latched on tightly. This was his last option.

He jerked hard on the shell, and after a moment, a low rumble bounced into his ears and vibrated the ground upon which he stood. In another moment he had pulled the door from its bonds with a loud pop. Relieved, he rolled the door aside--into a recess in the bark--and stepped into the next room.

From his position on a short balcony, he overlooked a huge room. Wooden planks provided a stairwell that stretched down to the rest of the room. In the middle of the space rose more stairs to a platform that Link assumed had once been connected to the other three balconies that spread off from it. Doors similar to the one Link had just penetrated were also sealed into the walls of each outcropping.

The planks reeked from years of untouched rot. Webs lined the ceiling and corners of the wood. The musty air seeped into Link's nostrils and made him sneeze. Ah, the sooner we get out of here....

Link started down the stairs, the monkey following close behind. As he climbed the case that led to the central platform, he realized too late the form of a giant spider above him. He rolled out of the way just in time to escape its eight hairy legs. But the monkey was now in danger, the arachnid crawling rapidly toward its new prey. When Link turned out of his roll he leapt up and kicked off one of the wooden rods sticking out to propel him back in the direction of the spider; at the same time, he drew his sword. He landed atop its sticky back, and as it twisted about and tried to shake him off, he jabbed his weapon down hard into its eyes. Within seconds, its wriggling ceased and the body crumpled into an odd heap.

He slid down the side of the creature and stepped over to the monkey after making sure that the large spider had been killed by the blow. Afraid, the little grey monkey saw Link as its only protection. It grappled his tunic and climbed up him, circling around his torso until it came to perch on his shoulder. Link could not help a small smile.

The little creature squeaked and pointed to a doorway above. Link took the hint and made his way across the divide to reach the outcrop. He slid the door aside and stepped out onto a hollow on the outside of the tree. There he and the monkey stood, taking in the wonder of the scenery. They were in the thick of the giant forest, where the wind never slowed to a breeze.

The constant wind beat against them as they approached a roped bridge swaying violently in the harsh current. However, angry squeaks of another monkey on the other side caught their attention. With the howling wind in his eyes, Link could only make out that the monkey was larger than his companion and that it carried a small instrument in its right hand.

Within an instant the item sailed from its grasp and snapped the lower ropes of the bridge, causing it to collapse and slap against the side of the opposing tree. The item then reversed its direction in a graceful turn to be reclaimed by its owner. The monkey turned around, taunted Link and his tiny partner, and scurried back out of sight.

"Oh! What is going on? A monkey fight?" came the cruel tone of Link's shadow. "Well, we can't go any farther. Turn back and find another way."

I don't think I'll give up that easy, Link thought. Against Midna's wishes he reached out and tested a rope that yet remained--one of two ropes meant to stabilize the bridge. When he pulled on it, he discovered it to still be quite taut. Yes, this will work fine. He drew his blade with his opposite hand, and keeping a firm grip on the rope, he slashed away its hold on the beam that protruded upward from the tree. Next, after sliding his weapon back into its home, he grabbed the small critter roosted on his shoulder and held it close to his chest. Ignoring Midna's screaming protests, Link pushed off from the edge of the hollow and took flight.

His entire body was impaled by wind as he sailed through the air, his hair and clothes rippling violently. Swiftly, Link neared the tree's neighbor and braced himself for a hard impact. He turned his face and the monkey away from the incoming trunk, tightening the muscles in his shoulder, which he wanted to take the brunt. Almost immediately after he had prepared for the moment, his bones collided with the opposite end of the limply strung planks against the tree.

Link bit his lip after the brutal hit had struck him, taking a moment for the pain vibrating through his shoulder and spine to melt to a bearable tolerance. He could feel the monkey relax in his arm, and oddly, he also felt a tugging at his leggings. Midna had obviously jumped out of his shadow at the last possible second to attach herself to him, now holding onto his knees.

"Are you completely insane?" she snapped. "You could have gotten yourself killed! Then where would I be?"

Glad to know you're really that worried for me, Link thought. It's not like you had to grab hold. You could have easily snapped your fingers and been across.... His thoughts strayed further on the subject, but while these unvoiced retorts raged on inside him, he busied himself with dragging him and monkey upward. His furry partner had returned to his shoulder--thankfully not the one still coursing with pain--to allow him better movement.

He felt Midna lift off from his knees, pushing through the air gracefully to land on the ground above him. Softly growling at her, he used all his strength to pull himself up over the ledge to stand beside her. Yet the reply that had just come from him in response to her behavior baffled and ruffled his nerves. He remembered countless times when he had growled at her during the time in his bestial manifestation.

Shaking off the feeling, Link strode ahead, as Midna again dwindled into the shadow of his being. Her laughter echoed across the giants.

Link came to a door carved in much the same manner as the other red-splotched barriers. With a heaving tug, he rolled it out of place and entered the dark room waiting inside the tree.

What chilled Link's bones was the absolute instinct with which he knew the dangerous creature--the monkey from before--lurked within the room … because he could smell it. It was still unnerving that he had retained some of his wolf-like qualities. He was not sure if he could ever become completely used to such sensations.

Crushing noises, almost like alien chatter, continuously pulsated throughout the chamber, and looking up, Link distinguished the heads of dangling or intertwining baba serpent heads, their long green necks flexing as much as their wide, drooling mouths. Sensing the possibilities of a trap, Link quickly averted his gaze from the high plain to search for a way out. Yet there was none.

Tendrils wound behind Link; he could hear their irritating rattle grow more prominent. When he turned about to take his leave, he found--to his dismay--that the serpents had wrapped their bodies and roots together to form a prickly fence across the opening. Link had his hand upon the hilt of his sword, ready to cut through their entanglement, when he heard a shrill animal voice behind him.

Link twisted about and his monkey friend cowered on his shoulder, slinking lower down his backside until it clasped his shirt, peering overtop his tunic just slightly. Link, though still mindful of the surrounding threats, stepped further into the chamber. From the two sources of light coming from a crack in the ceiling and one in the wall, Link could make out a distinct figure atop one of nine nearly identical totem poles, eight circling the central beam where it roosted. Without wind in his eyes, he could now see from its stature and red backside that it was a baboon, and a rather angry one.

It threw its item--which Link now identified as a boomerang--and cut loose several of the baba serpents above them. Three of the red-headed, blue-mouthed beasts fell and attacked. Yet, within moments Link had dealt with each in turn, severing each of them at their jaw lines, but not before one of them bit nastily into his white sleeve. Fortunately, Link had known the serpent creatures' bark to be more ruthless than their bite; therefore, he took up stance below the totem pole upon which his baboon foe stood.

Taunting it with only a raised brow, Link managed to ruffle its fur, causing the baboon to toss about on its perch. It unleashed its boomerang upon the youth, but Link ducked from its vicious path, then rolled out of its reach when the feather-edged weapon sailed back toward its owner. The baboon caught it, and, flustered, leapt to another totem pole to try its tactic again. Again, Link dodged without breaking a sweat.

Tiring quickly of the unrelenting attacks of the boomerang, Link decided to assault its owner. As the baboon busied itself in recapturing its precious device, Link took the opportunity to knock his body fully into the totem pole upon which it made its stand. The beam rocked and the baboon lost its footing, falling face-down onto the ground. Bravely, Link threw himself upon the beast that was nearly the same height as he. It wriggled under his weight and soon tossed Link onto his backside. A fist came at his face, but he rolled to his side to evade its massive strength. As the baboon was preoccupied in trying to figure out why it had not hit its human target, Link bodily slammed it in the side with a considerable amount of strength, knocking its head straightaway into the wall which had been within a few meters reach.

Link quickly regained his balance, ready for the next attack, but then he realized that the baboon had sustained injury … or so it seemed.

The baboon stood and staggered for a moment. Then something atop its head dislodged itself and fell in a crumpled heap to the ground. Link approached with caution toward the strange object. It owned a similar shape as the insects he had hunted earlier to redeem the light of Faron, but this creature was much larger, perhaps some other type of parasitic bug. Its legs wriggled as it lie crumpled on its back, and just as Link was about to strike the remaining life from it, it burst into nothingness in a spray of red light.

Then the baboon turned to face Link and, oddly, was startled. Obviously, it had no recollection of the battle that had just taken place. Frightened, as most normal animals were of people, the baboon skittered away, leaping from pole to pole until it jumped out the crack in the wall.

Shrugging, Link put the odd moment behind him and started for the door. He was not out of danger quite yet. However, at that moment he noticed that the baboon had left its possession lying where it had fallen.

Leaves rustled to life and were strewn across the chamber when it lifted off from the ground to hover at eye-level, twirling about, encompassed by its own whirlwind. "I am the Fairy of Winds who resides within this boomerang," a feminine voice echoed from its stationary tornado. "You have freed me from evil, and now my true power has returned. Please, take it with you and use it to your will. May both my power and my blessing go with you."

It whirled about the room once, and then sailed toward Link, who caught it admiringly. Mouth gaping, he stood looking it over for a long moment, but the shuffling noises within the chamber again penetrated his ears, and he remembered.

REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER:

~midnalover201Jun 13, 2008 I thought it was excellent, great stuff, GREAT STUFF.~nasanerd09Apr 9, 2012 You did well with this chapter. I'm quite used to the abbreviated temples by now, so I won't comment on that (besides, i think swinging across the gap like that would have been just as awesome as using the monkeys to do it). Also, I really like that Link can taunt the babboon with only a raised brow. No wonder the boy hardly speaks, he's mastered the art of facial expressions

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